Clutch Venus, Bhambri edge through to US Open third round

Michael Venus and Yuki Bhambri have moved into the third round of the men’s doubles at the US Open, defeating Gonzalo Escobar from Ecuador and Mexico’s Miguel Reyes-Varela 6-1 7-5.

It was another impressive display from Venus and Bhambri, who have continued to improve as a partnership since coming together after Wimbledon.

They comfortably took the first set, breaking their opponents’ serve on two occasions on Court 11.

But the second set was more of a battle and looked like it could go the way of Escobar and Reyes-Varela, as Bhambri had to save two set points when serving at 4-5.

However, both were saved and then the No 14 seeds broke Escobar’s serve in the next game to allow Venus to serve for the match.

The Kiwi completed that task with a backhand crosscourt winner from the back of the court on the first match point.

The victory makes this the third time Venus has reached the third round of the US Open, having previously got this far in 2014 and 2022. 

Venus has never gone beyond the third round in New York before, but he’ll achieve that feat if he and Bhambri can defeat the German duo of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in the next round.